People buy when they feel that they have good reasons to do so. So, you need a strong value proposition (=great reasons for buying what you sell). If you don’t have it, you can’t be able to give people good reasons for buying. If you don’t know what—specifically—would make people see value in your offer, how could your email marketing (or any marketing) be effective?
First of all, BuzzFeed has awesome subject lines and preview text. They are always short and punchy -- which fits in perfectly with the rest of BuzzFeed's content. I especially love how the preview text will accompany the subject line. For example, if the subject line is a question, the preview text is the answer. Or if the subject line is a command (like the one below), the preview text seems like the next logical thought right after it:
Though designed with the travel industry in mind, this template could be applied across a variety of niches. A simpler format than the ?Hero? theme, this suits those who would rather take a more formal approach. The straightforward two-color theme leads to a focus on the content.The header and footer are separated from the main body of the email by clever image placement. The two- color theme makes the CTAs stand out against the white background.Good for:
Vertical Response is great email marketing tool for creating professional newsletters as it offers tons (over 700) of designs for email newsletter templates. It also has a lot to offer in terms of editing and integrations (e.g. various CRM software, survey software and more). Additionally, users can create landing pages, conduct A/B testing (e.g. subject line performance), test emails using the Vertical Response test kit and much more.
Drip is a great tool for eCommerce businesses, bloggers and digital marketers (beginner or seasoned veteran). In addition to integrations with WordPress and WooCommerce, which make it easier for users to add sign up forms and capture leads, Drip has a lot of unique features that make it competitive. These fun features include list groups, smart email segmentation, and even some tools to help users to reach out to certain audiences. On top of that it is also a marketing automation tool, which means it goes beyond email blasts.
Surprise: Customer loyalty is the key to success. And you can reward your loyal customers by giving them something for free every now and then. Create a “surprise” email that sends an automated email to your best customers that offers a free yearly license to your software for them to use, a gift card or even a coupon code to redeem a box of cupcakes. It’s a small cost for your business but, the reward is huge!
The takeaway here is that if you are to use personalization as an email strategy, do so in a meaningful way. It takes little knowledge or relationship to place someone’s name in your greeting. It shows far greater care to send personalized email that is specific to a recipient’s needs and history. Again, an example from my inbox, this email from Rdio dispenses with the formalities and simply provides an update on music I actually listen to.
Mailchimp is a very well-known email marketing tool that integrates with popular apps and services like Salesforce, Eventbrite, Google, Twitter, Facebook, Shopify, and SurveyMonkey. This inbound marketing tool allows you to easily sync your data from those services, import content from other sources, and learn how your campaigns are affecting your business. Along with reports to show you how well you’re connecting with your audience and how much money you’re bringing in, Mailchimp gives you tips for improvement. Mailchimp Mobile Dashboard enables you to check in from anywhere.
Dynamic segmentation – As alluded to earlier, you can’t just send out a generic message to everyone on your list. While basic demographic data can be used to segment your list, that’s far from taking the dynamic approach. Automation tools can help you segment your list as they go through the funnel, allowing you to send personalized messaging depending on their actions and behaviors.